Magic of Family

So this video has been around for some 10 years but I haven't seen it until now.  That's OK.  Perhaps I appreciate it more now than I would have 10 years ago.

I must be in way too philosophical of a mood today but I absolutely loved this video.

Yes it is funny.  It is hilarious.  But it struck me as so fabulous and even beautiful.

I got a few take-aways from this.

The first is that no family is perfect.  When we look at each other superficially (like in a picture or from facebook posts) we see the surface.  We don't usually see the realness behind: the struggles, the prayers, the joys, the triumphs...

Second, kids are great: babies, littles, middles, teens, and adult kids.  They are great.  I  had kids so that I could have teens.  And now that I have them, I know they are better than I imagined.  I am so excited to see what it will be like to have adult children.

Finally, Families are the best invention EVER, as in ever!  eternally!   No other organization has ever come close to the simple beauty of the lessons learned in the family.  No where else can you so perfectly learn the lessons of love, sacrifice, compassion, forgiveness, long suffering, the value of work, obedience, humility, cooperation,... oh, the list goes on.

Holidays

We are having a wonderful holiday season. My friend put together a 24 days of Christmas Devotional with songs and stories for each day of December leading up to Christmas. We weren't as faithful in reading them every night as I had hoped, but I did like what we did. That, in addition to reading"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" that we got from cousins, we were able to keep the feeling of Christmas pretty well. On Christmas Eve we were invited to a potluckish dinner at a friend's house. We ate, enjoyed company, and read from Luke chapter 2.

I have been purging lately, so I didn't want to just fill up the house with things this year for Christmas. The kids got a lot of needed clothing and one or two special toys. They have been playing chess on the computer lately so they received a real chess game so that they didn't have to stare at the screen as much. Steven has been asking for a pan flute for months and he finally got one. A family in the ward holds an annual Christmas fireside/concert at their homes. Steven and I decided that next year we will do a Christmas duet so he can perform on his pan flute. He has been practicing every day since he got his flute.

Dad, Sage, and Hyrum came up for Christmas Day. We ate good food, Skyped with family far away, and watched A Christmas Carol. A fun and peaceful day.

Steven is now a Tenderfoot in scouts, he is only one camp out away from becoming a Second Class too.

Catch up

Well, I got behind. Allen came to visit the last weekend in July. Satoko didn't like him gone, but it was good to see him again. Our church meetings are in the afternoon, so we skipped church and went down to see him. Sam was still in town so we were able to spend more time with him, Emily and Abby. I visited Mom while I was there. Wow! just not the same. I don't think I really want to remember her like this. Hyrum left this week for boot camp- he is going into "military intelligence" - one of my father's favorite oxymorons. So I actually said good by to all of my brothers that day. I am excited for Hyrum; this should be a great experience for him. I will miss him, Tawni, and the girls though.

And I started my first class. Actually it is kind of an orientation, get-use-to-being-back-at-school sort of class. I think I could actually go through this school pretty quickly since it is so self paced. But right now I am leaning towards going slowly and casually. It will lengthen out the pain, but that pain won't be as intense for me or my family. We will see how it goes. I can always sign up for more classes if I have time during the term, but if I sign up for too many and can't finish, I will have a "not passed" on my transcript. This would be equivalent to failing the class one term, but passing it in the next. So I will opt for the cautious route, especially with Mom's cancer. I have an appointment with my mentor latter today to schedule my classes for the term. I like to have things planned out; I feel more secure that way. Yet, at the same time, I don't like being stuck to schedules. I am so confusing to myself.

Back to Zones

We have been functioning on minimal maintenance (if even that) since Joshua arrived. Next week I want to get back to our work zones and do a deeper cleaning each day. I use to think that I had to do one zone a week because that is what was always recommended. This was because they were always trying to tell me "this is all you have to do today so you can do it." Instead, I will work on a zone until it is finished and then move on to the next zone whether it takes 2 days or 2 weeks. What was happening was I was finishing early and then getting a break. This is not good if I am trying to create a habit. The idea is to get into the habit of consistently working through them.

Zone 1 Laundry Room / Garage, Playroom and Outside
Zone 2 Bathrooms and Bedrooms
Zone 3 Kitchen and Dining Room
Zone 4 Living Room and Desk

It is good to have a smaller house!

Now Daniel likes to use the chore cards. Steven prefers a simple list. I wonder if I can accommodate both of their preferences without doing too much myself.

The other trick is working in our rhythm. (Of course the flow of the day is often determined by the level of successfulness of the bed time routine from the night before.) I want to include:

Clean bedrooms
Breakfast
Scriptures
Chores
With feeding Joshua and pumping somewhere in the mix. This is what is messing up the flow.

By this time, they usually need a good break. Now during the school year, this would all happen before we begin school for the day. If we are slow then school doesn't start until almost lunch time.

I need to figure out when I will do my own studying too. I would like to do as much before they wake up as possible, (without starting the day out too late) and then have an hour or two in the afternoon when I have uninterrupted time. (Yeah right, with Joshua?!?)

Be prayerful. Take it one day at a time. Create a victory list.
I think I need someone to report to; someone who will keep me accountable, not to perfection, but to progression.

Finding order in this place.

Yesterday Jonny accused me of nesting. WHAT, just because I am having the kids help me scour every forgotten corner of this place?!? OK, maybe nesting is part of it. Another part is knowing that it needs to be done. A third reason is that in having a home birth, I will be inviting people into my home and I want to minimize my embarrassment. But the main reason is my children. I have been doing to much for them. They are capable and deserve to have me do them the favor of teaching them to work themselves.

Housekeeping has never been one of my strengths and with my lazy nature, I have had difficulty learning to do it while teaching my children to do it at the same time. I have fallen into the trap of doing most of it for them. I finally came to some realizations (in part inspired by the lazy organizer). I'm not sure how much time I want to spend in confession mode right now. But I have had some epiphanies over the last couple weeks. Some were some duhh moments, but apparently I have needed them spelled out for me.


One thing she said that just hit me was this:
"There is a reason why we have to prepare meals, wash clothes, clean up dirt, care for our homes and the people in it. These are not meaningless activities that get in the way of real life. THIS IS LIFE .... My purpose in life is to care for my family and clean the dirt every day."


So, my job is not to get the house work out of the way so that I can get to the noble business of changing the world. My job is to get up, teach my children how to work, and really love my job. It has been a huge paradigm shift that I am loving.

Consequentially, we have been spending several hours a day working together. It has been great. I am very surprised my energy level has remained as high as it has. Usually at this point in pregnancy, I sweep the floor and then have to sit and rest before I can grab the dust pan to finish the job. Even with my poor sleeping I am able to do quite a bit. Maybe it has to do with those green smoothies I have been making :-)


I actually made it past that first big hurdle that always throws me back to where I was before. I know there will be more (like childbirth and family vising) but I am on my way.

I am loving my job. YAHOO!!

A Little Announcement

Well, I am not quite ready to announce this yet, but as it is starting to leak, I probably should. It appears that we will be having a new baby sometime mid May (I am hoping for the 12th-my sister's birthday). I honestly did not expect this one to last, which is one reason we haven't said anything for so long. After miscarrying twice as many children as we have kept the odds were not in our favor to begin with. Last time I lost the baby at 16 weeks, but there had been signs that something was not quite right all along. I have reached the 17 week mark with this one, and all seems to be going well.



With my, and my children's education as such a big focus right now, I really did not think that this would be asked of me until I finished my degree. Maybe I am a stronger person than I thought I was. But I do know that a way will be provided and that I will receive the help I need. The knowledge that I desperately need that help, and the assurance that it will be provided, has humbled me more than I care to admit. I am awed that the Lord trusts me this much to give me so many responsibilities.